Sixty-Four Percent of New Car Purchase Requests Submitted on kbb.com Result in a Vehicle Sale, According to Experian Automotive Study

Experian Automotive studied new car purchase requests generated on kbb.com during the first nine months of 2004 and found that 64 percent of consumers submitting vehicle purchase requests on kbb.com ultimately purchased a vehicle during the analysis time frame. And while more than half of kbb.com's seven million unique visitors each month plan to purchase a new vehicle within six months, nearly 65 percent of consumers who submitted a purchase request and bought a vehicle did so within 60 days. Among the vehicle buyers, 76 percent of shoppers purchased a new vehicle and 24 percent purchased a used vehicle. The study also reported that Kelley Blue Book vehicle shoppers submitting purchase requests from January through September 2004 generated an estimated $3.3 billion in retail auto sales, demonstrating the site's ability to deliver to dealers some of the most qualified, in-market car buyers on the Internet today.

"Generally, close rates on Internet leads are seven percent, but we are closing nearly 18 percent of the leads from kbb.com because of the high-quality of the site visitors," said Shawn Disbrow, manager of the Internet Sales Department at Crevier BMW-MINI, the largest BMW dealership in the United States. "It was the leads we received from Kelley Blue Book that launched our Internet sales department; they helped us close 16 sales the first month."

Kelley Blue Book offers franchise dealers the Enhanced Dealer Advertising Package, delivering 100 percent organic leads and the ability to advertise on America's No. 1 automotive Web site. This targeted program reaches only in-market car buyers for a specific make in a dealer's metropolitan area. Kelley Blue Book captures the zip code of each kbb.com visitor as they enter the Web site and serves them regional prices along with ads for dealers within their community relevant to the make and model vehicle they are considering.

"Kbb.com is the only Web site that combines targeted dealer advertisements coupled with high-quality purchase requests and delivers active buyers to dealer Web sites," said Joe Vraneza, vice president of dealer advertising at Kelley Blue Book. "No other dealer program is more targeted and cost-efficient on the Internet today."

Pricing for Kelley Blue Book's Enhanced Dealer Advertising Package is based on vehicle make and market, which often is a fraction of the cost of a local newspaper ad, and reaches only local in-market shoppers. Packages can be purchased in six or 12 month blocks and typically can be up and running on the site in about a week. Current advertisers have first-right of refusal in renewing their terms to continue to be the exclusive featured make and dealer in their territory.

Experian Automotive's Auto Leads Analysis(SM) service matches leads submitted by consumers on Web sites such as kbb.com against Experian's National Vehicle Database, which houses registration and title data on more than 500 million vehicles. The service helps automotive marketers measure online investments based on actual vehicle buy-rates and provides statistical insight on consumer purchase behavior in the areas of competitive shopping and purchase timing.

About Experian Automotive

Experian Automotive delivers information solutions to manufacturers, dealers, finance and insurance companies, and consumers. Experian helps automotive clients increase customer loyalty, target and win new business, and make better lending and vehicle purchase decisions. Its National Vehicle Database, housing more than 500 million vehicles, along with Experian's credit, consumer and business information assets, meets the industry's growing demand for an integrated information source. Experian's advanced decision support services help clients turn this information into improved business results. Experian technology supports several top automotive Web sites, including eBay Motors, CarsDirect.com, AutoTrader.com, NADAguides.com, and Yahoo! Autos. For more information on Experian Automotive and its suite of solutions, visit their Web site at www.experianautomotive.com.

About Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com)

Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com is America's most used and trusted vehicle pricing, values and information resource. The top-rated Web site provides the most up-to-date pricing and values for thousands of new and used vehicles, including the Blue Book® New Car Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. Since 1926, car buyers and sellers have relied upon Kelley Blue Book for authoritative and unbiased information to make well-informed automotive decisions. The company also reports vehicle prices and values via products and services, including the famous Blue Book® Official Guide and software products. Car buyers have rated kbb.com No. 1 in overall customer satisfaction and experience, according to a survey by Keynote Systems. Kbb.com also has been named the No. 1 automotive information site by Nielsen//NetRatings and J.D. Power and Associates seven years in a row. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com; one in every four American car buyers complete their research on kbb.com.

SOURCE: Kelley Blue Book

CONTACT: Robyn Eckard, +1-949-268-3049, reckard@kbb.com, or Joanna
McNally, +1-949-268-3079, jmcnally@kbb.com, both of Kelley Blue Book

Web site: http://www.experianautomotive.com/

Web site: http://www.kbb.com/